Category Archives: bibliophiles

No more pipe dreams: a sketch in words

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There was almost a gentleness to knowing the balance of his life had come down to nothing but the words he wrote on a page. Nothing, more or less, save, of course, for the blessedly endless supply of books to read. Such was his love of reading that he knew, in the end, if he was aware of its arrival, a deep ache-sadness at not having read all he’d wanted to read would be present.

Not sad, so much, this truth. So many around him seemingly spinning in place or out of control (held up to the light at the right angle this could indeed be redundant) in their misery. The chase for the material, gullible minds digesting to the point of blind and foolish faith that wealth meant joy and happiness. In short, pipe dreams.

Leaning back in his chair with a cup of tea, a brief and admittedly cursory self-examination led him to conclude he was free of pipe dreams.

No more pipe dreams. Reality for me, he thought.

Books read 2014

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  1. “The Brothers Karamazov,” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  2. “Oh What a Paradise It Seems, by John Cheever
  3. “Back to Blood,” by Tom Wolfe
  4. “Charles Dickens His Tragedy and Triumph” by Edgar Johnson
  5. “Master and Commander,” by Patrick O’Brian
  6. “Still Life with Bread Crumbs,” by Anna Quindlen
  7. “The Waterworks,” by E.L. Doctorow
  8. “A Christmas Carol,” by Charles Dickens
  9. “Marry Me: A Romance,” by John Updike
  10. “Saint Maybe,” by Anne Tyler
  11. “Bech” A Book,” by John Updike
  12. “Post Captain,” by Patrick O’Brian
  13. “Villages,” by John Updike
  14. “H.M.S. Surprise,” by Patrick O’Brian
  15. “The Best Times: An Informal Memoir,” by John Dos Passos
  16. “Tolstoy: A Russian Life,” by Rosamund Bartlett
  17. “The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens,” Frederick W. Dupee
  18. “The Chimes” by Charles Dickens
  19. “Suttree” by Cormac McCarthy
  20. “Dry Bones in the Valley,” Tom Bouman
  21. “The Troubled Man,” by Henning Mankell
  22. “Faceless Killers,” by Henning Mankell
  23. “The Man from Beijing,” by Henning Mankell
  24. “Jar City,” by Arnaldur Indrioason
  25. “The Garner Files: A Memoir,” by James Garner
  26. “The Dogs of Riga” by Henning Mankell
  27. “Sidetracked,” by Henning Mankell
  28. “The Fifth Woman,” by Henning Mankell
  29. “The White Lioness,” by Henning Mankell
  30. “One Step Behind,” by Henning Mankell
  31. “The Man Who Smiled,” by Henning Mankell
  32. “Sweet Thunder,” by Ivan Doig
  33. “Italian Shoes,” by Henning Mankell
  34. “Firewall,” by Henning Mankell
  35. “Tea-Bag,” by Henning Mankell
  36. “A Treacherous Paradise,” by Henning Mankell
  37. “An Event in Autumn,” by Henning Mankell
  38. “What’s Bred in the Bone,” by Robertson Davies
  39. “Before the Frost,” by Henning Mankell
  40. “The Return of the Dancing Master,” by Henning Mankell
  41. “The Mind’s Eye,” by Hakan Nesser
  42. “Woman with Birthmark,” by Hakan Nesser
  43. “Borkmann’s Point,” by Hakan Nesser
  44. “The Return,” by Hakan Nesser
  45. “The Inspector and Silence,” by Hakan Nesser
  46. “Munsters Fall” by Hakan Nesser
  47. “Regeneration,” by Pat Barker
  48. “Sun and Shadow,” by Ake Edwardson
  49. “The Emperor of Ocean Park,” by Stephen L. Carter
  50. “Never End,” by Ake Edwardon
  51. “Frozen Tracks,” by Ake Edwardson
  52. “Sail of Stone,” by Ake Edwardson

Books read in 2013

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1) “Mr. Sammler’s Planet,” by Saul Bellow

2) “Ravelstein,” by Saul Bellow

3) “Bunner Sisters,” by Edith Wharton

4) “The Dean’s December,” by Saul Bellow

5) “Morte D’Urban,” by J.F. Powers

6) “A Theft,” by Saul Bellow

7) “The Bellarosa Connection,” by Saul Bellow

8) “Teeth, Dying & other matters,” by Richard G. Stern

9) “Tales of Grabowski,” by John Auerbach

10) “The Actual,” by Saul Bellow

11) “A Father’s Words,” by Richard Stern

12) “Other Men’s Daughters,” by Richard Stern

13) “A Widow for One Year,” by John Irving

14) “Natural Shocks,” by Richard Stern

15) “Stitch,” by Richard Stern

16) “Wise Blood,” by Flannery O’Connor

17) “Golk,” by Richard Stern

18) “My Life as a Man,” by Philip Roth

19) “Zuckerman unbound,” by Philip Roth

20) “Anatomy Lesson,” by Philip Roth

21) “The Prague Orgy,” by Philip Roth

22) “Framley Parsonage,” by Anthony Trollope

23) “Scoop,” by Evelyn Waugh

24) “The Moviegoer,” by Walker Percy

25) “The Counterlife,” by Philip Roth

26) “The Last Gentleman,” by Walker Percy

27) “The Facts,” by Philip Roth

28) “The Adventures of Augie March,” by Saul Bellow

29) “Patrimony,” by Philip Roth

30) “The Plot Against America,” by Philip Roth

31) “Sabbath’s Theater,” by Philip Roth

32) “Half a Life,” by V.S. Naipaul

33) “Staggerford,” by Jon Hassler

34) “American Hunger,” by Richard Wright

35) “Charles Dickens: Volume One,” Edgar Johnson

36) “The Staggerford Flood,” by Jon Hassler

37) “Jude the Obscure,” by Thomas Hardy

38) “The Great Dissent,” by Thomas Healy

39) “Eclipse,” by John Banville

40) “The Headmaster’s Dilemma,” by Louis Auchinloss

41) “The Rector of Justin,” by Louis Auchinloss

42) “Richard Wright: The Life and Times,” by Hazel Rowley

43) “Thornton Wilder: a life,” by Penelope Niven

44) “The Winter of Our Discontent,” by John Steinbeck

45) “Rex Stout: a biography,” by John McAleer

46) “The Idiot,” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Books read in 2010 & 2011

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I’ve always been curious about the books people read. It fascinates me because, I suppose, what draws the undivided attention of the human mind fascinates me, and because I’ve carried on a love affair with books for as long as I have memory. What people read tends to draw my undivided attention. I even joined a delightful website called Goodreads where book lovers share their reading journeys. Some years ago I took to the habit of keep lists of the books I read, memorializing their completion by noting the day I finished them.

I enjoyed all these books. Long ago I learned from my father that if, after some pages, the book didn’t interest me, put it down and move on. 

Desiderius Erasmus, a Dutch humanist and theologian, said, “When I have money, I buy books. If any money is left over, I buy food and clothes.” I’m with you all the way, sir.

Here are the books I read in 2010 and 2011.

2011

1) “Intruder in the Dust” by William Faulkner 1-5-11

2) “The Children” by Edith Wharton 1-11-11

3) “House of Mirth” by Edith Wharton 1-31-11

4) “The Ghost Writer” by Philip Roth 2-10-11

5) “Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius” by Leo Damrosch 2-22-11

6) “The Alice Behind Wonderland” by Simon Winchester 3-13-11

7) “The Tenants” by Bernard Malamud 3-25-11

8) “The Assistant” by Bernard Malamud 4-10-11

9) “The Natural” by Bernard Malamud 4-19-11

10) “The Fixer” by Bernard Malamud 4-28-11

11) “Dubin’s Lives” by Bernard Malamud 5-14-11

12) “A New Life” by Bernard Malamud 5-28-11

13) “Angle of Repose” by Wallace Stegner 6-24-11

14) “The Spectator Bird” by Wallace Stegner 6-28-11

15) “All the Little Live Things” by Wallace Stegner 7-3-11

16) “Crossing to Safety” by Wallace Stegner 7-10-11

17) “Shroud” by John Banville 7-23-11

18) “Mark Twain: A Life” by Ron Powers 7-29-11

19) “Troubles” by J.G. Farrell 8-5-11

20) “God’s Grace” by Bernard Malamud 8-8-11

21) “The Siege of Krishnapur” by J.G. Farrell 8-19-11

22) “The Singapore Grip” by J.G. Farrell 8-31-11

23) “The Trees” by Conrad Richter 9-7-11

24) “Girl in the head” by J.G. Farrell 10-4-11

25) “The Rebel Angels” by Robertson Davies 10-17-11

26) “Robert Louis Stevenson” by Frank McLynn 11-12-11

27) “The Edge of Sadness” by Edwin O’Connor 11-13-11

28) “The River King” by Alice Hoffman 11-16-11

29) “Time Will Darken it” by William Maxwell 12-15-11

30) “So Long, See You Tomorrow” by William Maxwell 12-18-11

31) “The Invention of Solitude” by Paul Auster 12-21-11

32) “They Came Like Swallows” by William Maxwell 12-26-11

33) “Washington Square” by Henry James 12-30-11

2010

1)  "Arrowsmith" by Sinclair Lewis 1-4-10

2) "It Can’t Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis  1-18-10

3) "Dodsworth" by Sinclair Lewis 1-31-10

4) "Kingsblood Royal" by Sinclair Lewis 2-10-20

5) "Cass Timberlane" by Sinclair Lewis 2-19-10

6) "Elmer Gantry" by Sinclair Lewis  3-4-10

7) "Winesburg, Ohio" by Sherwood Anderson 3-15-10

8) "True North" by Jim Harrison 3-27-10

9) "The English Major" by Jim Harrison 4-5-10

10) "Blood Brothers" by Richard Price 4-7-10

11) "Wild Pitch" by A.B. Guthrie Jr. 4-10-10

12) "Returning to Earth" by Jim Harrison 4-19-10

13) "The Johnstown Flood" by David McCullough 5-3-10

14) "Widows of Eastwick" by John Updike 5-18-10

15) "The Centaur" by John Updike 5-31-10

16) "Three Soldiers" by John Dos Passos 6-27-10

17) "The 42nd Parallel" by John Dos Passos 7-?-10

18) "Child of God" by Cormac McCarthy 8-23-10

19) "Crack In the Edge of the World," by Simon Winchester 8-29-10

20) "1919" by John Dos Passos 9-6-10

21) "An Irish Country Village" by Patrick Taylor 9-16-10

22) "Big Money" by John Dos Passos 10-4-10

23) "Manhattan Transfer" by John Dos Passos 10-22-10

24) "Death in the Andes" by Mario Vargas Llosa 10-29-10

25) "Nemesis" by Philip Roth 11-4-10

26) "Exit Ghost" by Philip Roth 12-5-10

27) "The Humbling" by Philip Roth 12-9-10

28) "Everyman" by Philip Roth 12-13-10

29) "Indignation" by Philip Roth 12-19-10

30) "Mistler’s Exit" by Louis Begley 12-25-10

31) "The Reserve" by Russell Banks 12-29-10

Without A Book

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I love to read and I am, without question, a bibliophile. 

The first time I heard I was a bibliophile (a collector of books) it sounded like something that required a hefty dose of antibiotics (do they make pro-biotics? ).  Anyway, a world without books would be like a world without sunlight. Nearly as bad is the time between books. If you find an author you love you can gobble up their books one after another. I am, for example, overjoyed to hear Howard Frank Mosher has a new book out, “Walking to Gatlinburg” . I love his writing.

I am pages away from finishing “Elmer Gantry” by Sinclair Lewis, my sixth Lewis book in a row, so I’m up for a change.

Being without a book is to feel a bit rudderless in the world. There is an almost familial comfort to know you have a book to return to as you go through the rest of life. A place to retreat, meet friends, places, experiences to be had that, while you are in the process of having them, belong solely to you.

Anyway, I’d like to talk more but I need to finish Gantry, then find another book to welcome me.

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